This invention relates to the capture, in open waters, of commercial quantities of shrimp. The standard method of capture of live shrimp for harvesting is by means of trawl nets, which are dragged through the water and which capture all ocean organisms larger than the mesh of the trawl. Since shrimp are often bottom feeders, these nets include drag chains or other mechanisms which serve to scrape the sea floor. An unavoidable consequence of such technique is that everything is caught and killed. This by catch often amounts to as much as 90% of a trawl, and often constitutes immature members of valuable food fish, all of which are killed.
There is at least one patent for fixed traps for shrimp, is U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,993 to Webb disclosing a bait trap with an internal electric light and a funnel entrance. The overall trap is of a solid transparent plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,698 to Bair shows a fish trap having an inverted funnel entrance.
In fishing, the use of combinations of light, scent and sound as a attractor is shown. Patents include U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,245 to Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,164 to Ewing, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,331 to Ursrey. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,374 to Simms discloses the use of a blue green light with light pulsations to attract fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,584 to Lindsay discloses, in lures, the insertion of a chemi-luminescent capsule material to make the bait attractive. This patent also discloses the use of transparent patterns to simulate scales or other desired patterns in the body, implying the use of such a visual attractant on fish and similar predators.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,190 discloses the injection of a chemi-luminescent liquid to cause live bait to glow. In this patent it is also disclosed that separate chemi-luminescent capsules may be inserted within a preexisting bait. This patent specifically refers to the American Cyanamide Cyalume M.sup.I product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,328 to Holcombe, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,103 to Steinman disclose a chemi-luminescent illumination of a lure.
Four patents to Mattison, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,777,756; 4,751,788; 4,800,670 and 4,693,032 disclose various forms of adapting a lure to utilize a chemi-luminescent capsule or tube.
Each of the above patents teach the selection of the illumination to attract the desired end fish to be caught, and imply that this requires a specific type and appearance of illumination. There is no discussion of light intensity, and no indication that large quantities of desired catch may be made by usual means; to the contrary, the usual item taught is a sport fishing lure, implying capture of individual fish.